Bye, Singapore: the hottest new stopover cities for Australians

Dubai is a top stopover choice for many Australians who are flying to Europe. Photo: Dubai Tourism

Shopping in Bangkok and eating noodles in Singapore are yesterday's news.

As we head into the peak season for trips to the northern hemisphere, the hottest stopover destinations are in the Middle East and China, with big-name attractions, cultural bites and longer stays on the menu.

'There's definitely been a noticeable shift in recent times,' says the managing director of Creative Holidays, James Gaskell. 'A lot of people are chasing more unusual experiences on their way to Europe.'

Gaskell says the nature of stopovers has changed, from the traditional one-night 'wash and brush up' in Hong Kong or Singapore to three or four days of active sightseeing and exploring in new cities.

The shift in destinations is largely due to changes in the airline scene, particularly the growth of Middle Eastern airlines Emirates and Etihad, and Qantas's partnership with Emirates.

Increased flight options to Chinese cities have also played a role, along with the introduction of visa-free stopovers for Australian travellers to Guangzhou.

China Southern Airlines, which has been actively promoting the 72-hour visa-free option since it was introduced last August, says nearly 40 per cent of travellers who have taken it up have been from Australia and New Zealand.

The airline has worked with local tourism authorities to put together stopover packages including Cantonese food and local sights, as an alternative to our traditional Asian stopover cities.

Guangzhou might be new to many Australian travellers, but China Southern says it is now China's third largest city for tourism, clocking up more than 50 million visitor nights last year.

The executive general manager of marketing for Flight Centre, Colin Bowman, agrees long-standing stopover destinations such as Hong Kong and Singapore have waned, with many Australians now flying to Europe via Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Bowman says some travellers are 'not particularly enamoured' with the Middle Eastern routes, which offer a very long leg out of Australia followed by a shorter leg into Europe, but many see it as an opportunity to bypass London and go straight into other European cities.

Some choose the Middle Eastern routes because they want to fly with the well-regarded Middle Eastern carriers, while others see it as an opportunity to explore somewhere new and see 'two cities for the price of one'.

'People are open to these options because they're always looking for new places to go,' Bowman says. 'There are some good accommodation deals, too, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.'

Bowman says stopover travellers in the Middle East can get four or five star hotels from about $100 a night, making it an affordable add-on to their holiday plans.

James Gaskell says the average stopover in Dubai for Creative Holidays customers is four days, while a typical stopover in Abu Dhabi is two to three nights. He believes the 'Dubai publicity machine' has played a big role in the Middle East's growing popularity, along with the number of big-name attractions in the region.

Do you think the Middle East and China are the best stopover destinations? What would your stopover choice be? Post your comments below.

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Singapore braces for pollution nightmare

Singapore is approaching its yearly 'haze' season, when smoke from forest clearing in Indonesia chokes the air, with this year likely to be worse than 2013's record pollution thanks to lack of action in Jakarta and an expected El Nino weather pattern.The prosperous city-state, which prides itself on its clean air, was shrouded in heavy smog from slash-and-burn clearances on the neighbouring Indonesian island of Sumatra last June which sent its air pollution index to a record high.One year on, and an election-distracted government in Indonesia has still not ratified the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, and fires continue to burn in Sumatra.That is despite outrage in Singapore as well as environmental groups putting pressure on Jakarta. Fires are used to clear land on plantations and can burn for weeks because of peat deposits below the surface.There is also a growing likelihood of an El Nino weather pattern this year, meaning Singapore, as well as parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, could be set for months of intense haze with a knock-on effect on health and business, especially tourism.A strong El Nino, marked by a warming of the surface of the Pacific, can cause severe drought in Australia, Southeast Asia and India, while drenching other parts of the world such as the US Midwest and Brazil in rain.'If we get four to six months of dry period in Southeast Asia starting from June, we could be in for a very difficult period, if companies' and people's behaviour do not change', Singapore environment minister Vivian Balakrishnan told a conference.Frustrated by the lack of progress, Singapore is taking matters into its own hands by proposing a new law that aims to punish individuals and companies outside its borders that are responsible for polluting its air.That's expected to be tabled in parliament later this year. Legal experts hail the bill as a bold move, but question how it will be implemented.Finding who is responsible for the haze is hard given the lack of evidence like maps showing who owns the land where fires are burning. Both Indonesia and Malaysia have refused to share clear and updated land use and concession maps so far.Bringing a prosecution in Singapore courts will be even tougher.'The basic evidential inquiry needed to resolve the problem, i.e. to find out who is setting fires to whose land cannot even be conducted', said Alan Tan, professor at the Faculty of Law and Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. 'Let alone the more complex tasks of actually prosecuting perpetrators or managing land use conflicts for the longer term.'Two of the world's largest palm oil companies, Wilmar International and Golden Agri-Resources have been applauded for committing to no deforestation policies after criticism in the past.Alongside the palm oil industry, paper and pulp companies have also been blamed for haze.

Singapore Airlines plane skids off runway at Myanmar's Yangon International ...

Travel Incidents

Singapore airlines said none of the 265 passengers and crew onboard were injured. Photo: AFP

A Singapore Airlines plane skidded off the runway on touching down during heavy rain at Myanmar's Yangon International Airport, but no injuries were reported, the carrier said Thursday.

The Airbus A330 plane 'encountered heavy rain and veered slightly off the runway on landing' Wednesday, scheduled for 9:20am (0250 GMT), before it was steered safely back, the airline said in a statement.

'The aircraft was towed to the gate and customers disembarked normally,' the airline said in a statement, adding that a replacement plane was sent to Yangon for the return flight.

The plane, flight SQ998 on a daily route to Myanmar, was carrying 265 passengers and crew, the airline said.

On May 9, an Airbus A380 superjumbo operated by the airline on a flight to Hong Kong was forced to turn back to Singapore after pilots received a warning about a problem with a cargo door.

In January, one of the airline's A380 fleet was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan after suffering a drop in cabin pressure.

The flag-carrier subsequently said its investigation into the incident focused on a main deck door that appeared to have suffered a leak.

Singapore Airlines has 19 A380s with five others on order, operating on routes from Singapore to various destinations including Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London and Los Angeles.

AFP

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Singapore Braces For Worst 'Haze' Season As Indonesia Fails To Halt Slash ...

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By Rujun Shen SINGAPORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Singapore is approaching its yearly 'haze' season, when smoke from forest clearing in Indonesia chokes the air, with this year likely to be worse than 2013's record pollution thanks to lack of action in Jakarta and an expected El Nino weather pattern. The prosperous city-state, which prides itself on its clean air, was shrouded in heavy smog from slash-and-burn clearances on the neighboring Indonesian island of Sumatra last June which sent its air pollution index to a record high. One year on, and an election-distracted government in Indonesia has still not ratified the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, and fires continue to burn in Sumatra. That is despite outrage in Singapore as well as environmental groups putting pressure on Jakarta. Fires are used to clear land on plantations and can burn for weeks because of peat deposits below the surface. There is also a growing likelihood of an El Nino weather pattern this year, meaning Singapore, as well as parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, could be set for months of intense haze with a knock-on effect on health and business, especially tourism. A strong El Nino, marked by a warming of the surface of the Pacific, can cause severe drought in Australia, Southeast Asia and India, while drenching other parts of the world such as the U.S. Midwest and Brazil in rain. 'If we get four to six months of dry period in Southeast Asia starting from June, we could be in for a very difficult period, if companies' and people's behavior do not change,' Singapore Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told a conference. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Singapore is taking matters into its own hands by proposing a new law that aims to punish individuals and companies outside its borders that are responsible for polluting its air. That's expected to be tabled in parliament later this year. Legal experts hail the bill as a bold move, but question how it will be implemented. Finding who is responsible for the haze is hard given the lack of evidence like maps showing who owns the land where fires are burning. Both Indonesia and Malaysia have refused to share clear and updated land use and concession maps so far. Bringing a prosecution in Singapore courts will be even tougher. 'The basic evidential inquiry needed to resolve the problem - i.e. to find out who is setting fires to whose land - cannot even be conducted,' said Alan Tan, professor at the Faculty of Law and Center for International Law at the National University of Singapore. 'Let alone the more complex tasks of actually prosecuting perpetrators or managing land use conflicts for the longer term.' Two of the world's largest palm oil companies - Wilmar International Ltd and Golden Agri-Resources Ltd - have been applauded for committing to no deforestation policies after criticism in the past. Alongside the palm oil industry, paper and pulp companies have also been blamed for haze. Indonesia's Riau province declared a state of emergency in February as haze from raging forest fires disrupted flights and marine navigation and tens of thousands fell sick with respiratory problems. The airport in the provincial capital closed for more than three weeks. 'The task force the president sent to the field was able to quench the fire but not solve the fundamental problem,' Heru Prasetyo, head of Indonesia's REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Andrew Toh in SINGAPORE and Michael Taylor in JAKARTA; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Singapore Airlines flight veers off Myanmar airport runway

POSTED: 22 May 2014 07:32

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed that one of its planes veered off the runway on Wednesday (May 21) while landing at the Yangon International Airport in Myanmar.

An SIA spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that flight SQ998, an Airbus A330 that took off from Singapore and which was scheduled to land in Yangon at 9.20am on Wednesday, encountered heavy rain and veered 'slightly off' the runway on landing.

There were no reports of injuries. The aircraft was towed to the gate and all passengers disembarked safely, the spokesperson said, adding that a replacement aircraft was sent to Yangon to operate the return flight.

The airport was closed for half an hour due to the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

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Australian Government Should Follow Singapore in Supporting Startups

Tony Abbott's Coalition Government has taken a severe beating in recent polls following the release of the newest federal budget plans. While the AUD$80 billion slash in funds for health and education over the next ten years has received the most attention, the entrepreneur community is also reeling in palpable frustration.

Treasurer Joe Hockey announced the abolition of a range of industry assistance programs to save over $845 million. He argues, 'Businesses should stand or fall on their ability to produce the goods and services that people will actually want.' Although this statement affirms the 'product-market fit mantra', it is ignorant of the fact that Australia's start-up community is relatively nascent and still needs support.

Among the victims of the budget reform are the Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) and Commercialisation Australia, two important pillars of a support system for Australian technology and innovation. IIF was established to seed venture capital firms and innovative Australian companies. SEEK, one of Australia's most successful companies was an early beneficiary of the program. Likewise, Commercialisation Australia - a government initiative offering funding and resources to businesses, researchers, and inventors looking to commercialise innovative intellectual property - will also be killed.

The government will replace these initiatives with a single, new service called the Entrepreneurs' Infrastructure Program that is due to provide $484.2 million over five years to 'improve the capabilities of small to medium enterprises and streamline business access to government programs.' Details of the new program are currently vague and still need to be finalised.

On one hand, the government can be seen to be trying to save money and repair the budget - which is genuinely needed. On another, perhaps the government really doesn't know how to manage the organisations and funds to administer them. Take IIF for example, where $130 million of the total $600 million deployed over the course of its sixteen-year existence was spent on various fees and costs. Kim Heras, a Founder of 25Fifteen - a Bondi based start-up incubator says, 'The government can do a raft of things that make startups a more interesting investment asset class - particularly from a tax perspective - but it can't be handouts. The government needs to support private sector efforts rather than over-administer them.'

Although Australia ranks a respectable 19th on the Global Innovation Index ranking by World Intellectual Property Organization, it can do better. Singapore has a quarter of Australia's population and ranks eighth in the world. Singapore has also been churning out world-class start-ups with very successful exits. Two notable exits of late are Viki's US$200 million acquisition by Rakuten and Zopim's $30 million acquisition by Zendesk. As reported by TechinAsia, Zopim received strong support from Singaporean Government grants and investments including the Media Development Authority, SPRING Singapore and the National University of Singapore.

More specifically, here are some Singaporean government initiatives that have been crucial to supporting start-ups and that you should know about:

SPRING - A collection of programs, including ACE, which supports first time entrepreneurs with mentors, networks and funding, and SEEDS, an equity based co-financing option. MDA i.Jam - Provides fund matching up to S$100,000 by founders or incubators National Research Fund Technology Incubation Scheme - Co-invests up to 85% of the investment (maximum of S$500,000) by a recommended incubator.

Moreover, Singapore's Government doesn't just throw money to grants. It is also very serious about creating a physical infrastructure for entrepreneurs and start-up support services to co-exist through Block projects. Block-71 was the first government experiment to house start-ups. Originally a dying industrial zone, it has been transformed into a place for entrepreneurs to work and grow together. Singapore now plans to expand the Block projects to three buildings and double the number of companies working in the Blocks from 250 to 500 by the end of the year.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is further ramping up start up support efforts this year with a new acceleration program, an accreditation program to encourage government entities and large enterprises to adopt emerging technologies, and the development of a new fabrication lab to give young people an opportunity to experiment with new hardware electronics and software.

Singapore's government has pumped around S$100 million dollars into its early stage start-ups. This contributes to the extraordinary amount of venture capital funding in Singapore of $1.7 billion last year, a stunning figure when compared to China's $3.46 billion. Australia only had a measly $111 million of venture capital injected last year, a drop of 20% from the previous year. There is even fear that Australia's venture capital industry could disappear altogether if changes flagged in an upcoming tax review take too long to be implemented, according to Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association chief executive Yasser El-Ansary.

Some have criticised the amount of over-reaching involvement by Singapore's Government to artificially spur innovation and entrepreneurship. However, like a professional lead-out-man cyclist in a Tour De France race, the government is carefully carving a path for start-ups and will eventually fall back; after the ecosystem has gained sufficient momentum and money from successful exits have been recycled into the ecosystem to more naturally propel the next generation of start-ups.

Conversely, the Australian Government seems to be retracting prematurely just as Australia's startup environment is heating up. If Australia seriously wants to compete globally, let alone regionally, the government must not diminish the value of its contribution now. Investing into Australian entrepreneurs is an important investment into securing Australia's future.

Video shows Mugabe at a hospital in Singapore

Special Report

Contaminated tap water has been blamed for the death of at least 328 Zimbabweans across the country so far this year, according to a report.

Cape Town - Video footage has emerged showing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arriving at a private hospital in Singapore with his wife, Grace.The footage released by Britain's public broadcaster Channel 4 shows Mugabe and his wife entering Gleneagles Hospital.Grace and Mugabe's bodyguards make an attempt to stop the cameraperson from filming the veteran leader.'Why are you taking photo?... You can't take photo,' Grace is heard pleading with the cameraperson, who maintains that 'it's a public place'. Check out the video below.According to New Zimbabwe.com Gleneagles Hospital says its Parkway Eye Centre offers the latest in blade-free LASIK and cataract removal surgery. Mugabe has admitted having cataracts removed on both eyes in Singapore.Channel 4, however, says there is also a 'well-regarded' cancer clinic at the same hospital.A leaked 2008 US diplomatic cable cited then bank governor Gideon Gono as saying Mugabe had prostate cancer, a claim denied by officials.Mugabe left Harare for Singapore last week with his spokesperson saying he was on a 'private visit' during which he would also undergo 'a routine eye check up' following 'a recent procedure on the same'.Succession battle Mugabe's health is a concern for Zimbabweans who fear instability if he dies in office without resolving a succession battle raging in his ruling Zanu-PF party.Mugabe's closest ally, Didymus Mutasa, recently warned journalists against publishing stories on his (Mugabe's) health, saying the regime would deal ruthlessly with such scribes.According to The Daily News, Mutasa said journalists and people who fuelled speculation on Mugabe's health should be punished severely.Mugabe has long been rumoured to be seriously ill and has travelled to Singapore for medical checks several times in the past five years.He has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

- News24